A Commitment to Patience and Excellence in Edmonton (Hoppy Endings, 2054 Arby/FA Sim) [PP:2054.01]

[neugey]

The Jackrabbits are on a slow upward trajectory. The franchise bottomed out in 2050 with 59 wins. GM Mike Bauer joined the club midway into 2051 as the team improved to 65 wins. In 2052 the club made some nice signings to improve to 71 wins, and this most recent campaign concluded with a 74 win season in 2053. Bauer is happy with the incremental gains and says the plan is to remain patient. In an exclusive interview, he laid out his approach for the 2054 season.

"As an organization, we want to be stable and profitable. That is the most important thing," explained Bauer. "From that, the winning will come and eventually also some post-season success. This last year all of our farm teams except for R level had winning records. That was good, but we are looking to build on that and win some minor league championships. We need the farm to excel, and build a strong support system for the major league club to flourish over time."

"We have some good young pitching and a few nice hitters we're excited about in our minors. But we don't believe in rushing players to the majors. I don't think a player can be ready for a major league gig until 23 at the earliest. Players 22 and under need to spend time in the minors building their confidence and craft. Rushing players to the majors brings about risk and weakens the core of our farm. Patience is key."

But don't mistake patience for indifference. In 2054 and beyond, Bauer intends to tighten the reins on his organization.

"Last season I was a little off. But this year and beyond my focus will be sharp on closely managing our entire organization. I'll be setting all of the major league lineups, and also a good share of the minor league ones. If some call that micromanagement, then so be it. As of today we don't have a manager for the Jackrabbits. But that role will go to an in-game manager who I will hire that has the right tactical approach for our personnel and is a good mentor. Beyond that, I want to be the sole one governing our approach and the player roles on our team. That will lead to making the best personnel decisions for the team. If I try to do that from afar, we'll lose efficiency. With so many talented teams in the Johnson, we will need to be better than the sum of our parts, and that is my goal for 2054. Owner Jim Leonard wants us to shoot for the .500 mark, and I think that's a reasonable goal."

"But this goal is one that will require close attention to our player productivity and making sure we capitalize on as many opportunities as we can, with limited resources. We're not going to outspend too many BBA teams this offseason. And a lot of our players from 2053 are returning this time. We have to continue to get the most out of them."

[trmmilwwi]

Go get'em GM! Micromanage the heck out of them!! Slow and steady wins the race... if you keep gaining 3 wins a season you'll crack the century mark sometime around 2063!